May / June / July / August
July 2
Zola
Cast: Taylour Paige, Riley Keough, Nicholas Braun, Colman Domingo
Director: Janicza Bravo
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Rotten Tomatoes, trailer
The Lowdown: Buzz out of Sundance for this film derived from a Twitter thread and adapted by Tony-nominated writer Jeremy O. Harris (“Slave Play”) and “Lemon” director Janicza Bravo was near deafening, making the year-long wait even more excruciating, but this wild tale of a waitress (Taylour Paige) whose opportunity to make some quick cash as a stripper turns into a nightmare when it involves a host of unsavory characters. (How to Watch: In Theaters)
Against the Current
Director: Oskar Pall Sveinsson
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, trailer
The Lowdown: Except some extraordinary scenery in this doc that joins kayaker Veiga Grétarsdóttir, the first person to ever try to sail 2,000 kilometers around Iceland, counter-clockwise, a journey that pales in comparison with where she’s already been after being born a man and seeking out gender reassignment surgery in her mid-thirties. (How to Watch: In Theaters and Virtual Cinemas)
America: The Motion Picture
Cast: Channing Tatum, Simon Pegg, Judy Greer, Bobby Moynihan
Director: Matt Thompson
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site
The Lowdown: This irreverent R-rated animated comedy reunites “21 Jump Street” filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller (as producers) with Channing Tatum, playing no less than George Washington in what is shaping up to be a wonderful way to celebrate Independence Day when Sam Adams, Thomas Edison, Paul Revere and Geronimo are reimagined as an Avengers-esque team pulling out all the stops – and even some chainsaws – to bring down Benedict Arnold. (How to Watch: Netflix)
Being a Human Person
Director: Fred Scott
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Rotten Tomatoes
The Lowdown: With “About Endlessness” recently reaching theaters after being delayed by the pandemic, this doc sheds light on the creative process of its legendary director Roy Andersson, who granted Fred Scott with unprecedented access on what he intends to be his final film. (How to Watch: In Theaters, starting with an exclusive run at Film Forum in New York)
Fear Street Part 1: 1994
Cast: Kiana Madeira, Olivia Welch, Benjamin Flores Jr. Fred Hechinger, Ashley Zukerman, Maya Hawke, Jordana Spiro, Julia Rehwald, Gillian Jacobs
Director: Leigh Janiak
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, teaser
The Lowdown: It’s been a long time coming for this ambitious adaptation of R.L. Stine’s beloved horror novels, which got caught up in the limbo of its parent studio Fox being sold to Disney shortly after production wrapped, but one can be assured it’ll be worth the wait in the very capable hands of “Honeymoon” director Leigh Janiak, who with co-writer Phil Graziadei took on the ambitious task of creating a three-part trilogy about what’s spooking the kids of Shadyside, Ohio, with the films rolling out over the course of three weeks. (How to Watch: Netflix)
First Date
Cast: Tyson Brown, Shelby Duclos, Jesse Janzen, Nicole Berry
Director: Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Rotten Tomatoes
The Lowdown: Things get out of hand quickly in this raucous comedy about a teen (Tyson Brown) whose desire to impress a girl (Shelby Duclos) with a new ride backfires horribly when he finds out what’s in the trunk. (How to Watch: In Theaters, on VOD and on Digital)
The Forever Purge
Cast: Will Patton, Ana de la Reguera, Josh Lucas, Leven Rambin, Tenoch Huerta, Cassidy Freeman
Director: Everardo Gout
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Rotten Tomatoes, trailer
The Lowdown: After going back in time for 2018’s “The First Purge,” this fifth film in the franchise unfolds after the events of 2016’s “The Purge: Election Year,” following a Mexican couple (Ana de La Regular and Tenoch Huerta) who think they’ve found a hiding spot at a ranch in Texas when they’re on the run from a drug cartel and the additional knowledge that the Purge has been discontinued, but the law isn’t honored by a group of hooligans intent on killing them and everyone in their path. (How to Watch: In Theaters)
No Sudden Move
Cast: Don Cheadle, Benicio del Toro, David Harbour, Ray Liotta, Jon Hamm, Amy Seimetz, Brendan Fraser, Kieran Culkin, Noah Jupe, Craig muMs Grant, Julia Fox, Frankie Shaw, Bill Duke
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Points of Interest: IMDb, teaser
The Lowdown: Together again in Detroit for a heist flick, Steven Soderbergh and “Out of Sight” co-conspirator Don Cheadle head back in time to the 1950s for this thriller about a ragtag group of thieves who get plenty of cuts trying to get their hands on a valuable piece of paper. (How to Watch: HBO Max on July 1)
The Phantom
Director: Patrick Forbes
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site
The Lowdown: Executive produced by “Virunga” director Orlando von Einsiedel, this true crime doc revisits a horrific murder of a gas station attendant in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1983 whose purported killer was put to death six years later, but as Patrick Forbes uncovers, key evidence had been omitted from the trial and demonstrates how a young Hispanic man of little means was convicted based more on his background than the facts of the case. (How to Watch: In Theaters)
Some of Our Stallions
Cast: Carson Mell, Al Di, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Tim Heidecker, David Zellner, Mike Judge
Director: Carson Mell
Points of Interest: IMDb
The Lowdown: Those in the know will have this circled on their calendar as Mell, a talented animator and writer on “Silicon Valley,” has made a follow-up to his perversely funny ghostbusting comedy “Another Evil” with this film about a pair of friends (Mell and Al Di) recently released from the psychiatric ward who decide to look for partners on a similar wavelength as they are, only to end up vying over one (Olivia Taylor Dudley). (How to Watch: In Theaters and on VOD)
Summer of Soul
Director: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Rotten Tomatoes, trailer
The Lowdown: Nodding to his native Philly by calling it “A Questlove Jawn” rather than a film, the endlessly talented beat-keeper for the Roots makes his directorial debut with this extraordinary discovery of a cache of footage from the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival that had been shot by festival producer Hal Tulchin, but never released, leaving pristine and largely unseen performances from Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, and an electrifying Sly and the Family Stone, among others, sitting in storage ever since. No need to buy fireworks this July 4th, when they’re all here. (How to Watch: In Theaters and on Hulu)
The Tomorrow War
Cast: Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, J.K. Simmons, Betty Gilpin, Sam Richardson, Edwin Hodge
Director: Chris McKay
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Rotten Tomatoes, teaser
The Lowdown: The live-action debut of “Lego Batman” director Chris McKay, this may be the most expensive film to date to premiere on Amazon after picking up this Chris Pratt sci-fi starrer from Paramount in which the “Guardians of the Galaxy” star has travel to the past to recruit soldiers for a future fight to save humanity, needing to convince people he’s not insane with the help of his father (J.K. Simmons) and a scientist (Yvonne Strahovski). (How to Watch: Amazon Prime)
Vicious Fun
Cast: Evan Marsh, Amber Goldfarb, Ari Millen, Julian Richings, Robert Maillet, Sean Baek, David Koechner, Alexa Rose Steele, Mark Gibson
Director: Cody Calahan
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Rotten Tomatoes
The Lowdown: A young man finds himself as part of two dead-end pursuits, being a film critic who inadvertently attends a self-help meeting for serial killers, realizing the only way out is to try to fit in. (How to Watch: Shudder)
July 9
Summertime
Cast: Austin Antoine, Marquesha Babers, Bryce Banks, Bene’t Benton
Director: Carlos López Estrada
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Rotten Tomatoes, trailer
The Lowdown: In his live-action follow-up to “Blindspotting,” Carlos López Estrada was moved by a spoken word showcase for 25 high school students that he saw to create a narrative out of it, resulting in this trek around Los Angeles with the teens staying cool with free-verse as the heat rises. (How to Watch: In Theaters)
Black Widow
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz, David Harbour
Director: Cate Shortland
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Rotten Tomatoes, trailer
The Lowdown: Following the character’s fate in “Avengers: Endgame,” this prequel sees Natasha Romanoff in earlier days with the spies she trained with, from super soldier Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour) and mentor Melina Vostokov (Rachel Weisz) to her own pupil in Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh). After the psychological thriller “Berlin Syndrome,” director Cate Shortland takes things to another level. (How to Watch: In Theaters and for rental on Disney+ Premier Access)
Dachra
Cast: Yassmine Dimassi, Hela Ayed, Aziz Jebali, Bilel Slatnia, Bahri Rahali
Director: Abdelhamid Bouchnak
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Rotten Tomatoes, trailer
The Lowdown: A horror hit in its native Tunisia and a Jury Prize winner at the Overlook Film Fest, this found-footage horror film concerns a trio of film students who investigate the legend of woman who was committed to a mental institution after she was found mangled in a forest, leading to suspicions of witchcraft and cannibalism. (How to Watch: In Theaters and on VOD)
Fear Street Part 2: 1978
Cast: Sadie Sink, Emily Rudd, McCabe Skye, Gillian Jacobs, Ryan Simpkins, Drew Scheid
Director: Leigh Janiak
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site
The Lowdown: Thankfully, audiences won’t have to wait long to see this second installment of the “Fear Street” trilogy, set at Camp Nightwing where kids from opposite sides of the tracks are united by terror when they have to figure out who or what’s responsible for a string of murders over the summer. (How to Watch: Netflix)
The Loneliest Whale
Director: Joshua Zeman
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Rotten Tomatoes
The Lowdown: Fresh off the Netflix serial killer miniseries “The Sons of Sam,” Joshua Zeman takes on something physically heavier, but otherwise lighter with this pursuit of the 54 Hertz Whale, which is rare due to a siren call that is at a higher frequency than most other whales. In the works since 2015, the film will additionally tackle the issue of noise pollution in the water and growing isolation for mammals of all types. (How to Watch: In Theaters)
The Witches of the Orient
Director: Julian Faraut
Points of Interest: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, trailer
The Lowdown: After creating a unique sensory experience around the 1984 French Open with “John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection,” Julian Faraut takes a similar approach to create something wholly different with this reflection on the 1964 Japanese women’s volleyball team from Japan, joining the ladies for high tea in the present day while recalling how fierce they were on the court. (How to Watch: In Theaters, starting with an exclusive run at Film Forum in New York)
The Woman Who Ran
Cast: Kim Min-hee, Song Seon-mi, Eun-mi Lee, Young-hwa Seo
Director: Hong Sang-soo
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Rotten Tomatoes
The Lowdown: A florist (Kim Min-hee) visits three of her oldest friends when her husband’s away, letting their true feelings rise to the surface in this Silver Bear winner for Best Director at last year’s Berlin Film Festival. (How to Watch: In Theaters)
July 16
Ailey
Director: Jamila Wignot
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Facebook, Twitter, Rotten Tomatoes
The Lowdown: As graceful a biography as its subject could’ve choreographed, Jamila Wignot’s profile of the great Alvin Ailey incorporates interviews with his closest collaborators with rare audio recordings of him speaking about turning his difficult upbringing in Texas filled with racism and poverty into inspiration for his enduring dance company out of New York. (How to Watch: In Theaters)
Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Water
Director: Tom Hurwitz and Rosalynde LeBlanc
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Twitter, Rotten Tomatoes, trailer
The Lowdown: For those wanting to make a double bill with “Ailey,” this doc gets into the nitty gritty of one of his great proteges Bill T. Jones’ most formidable productions “D-Man in the Waters,” an unforgettable tribute to all those he lost to AIDS including Ailey, his partner Arnie Zane and dancer Demian Acquavella as the classic staging from 1989 is being remounted in the present day. (How to Watch: In Theaters, starting with an exclusive run at Film Forum in New York)
Charlatan
Cast: Ivan Trojan, Josef Trojan, Juraj Loj
Director: Agnieszka Holland
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Rotten Tomatoes, trailer
The Lowdown: The official selection of the Czech Republic for this year’s Oscars, Agnieszka Holland’s latest drama recounts the life of Jan Mikolášek, a medicine man specializing in herbal remedies during the 1930s who faces scrutiny by his country’s communist regime that saw his work outside state-sanctioned hospitals as a threat. (How to Watch: In Theaters)
Fear Street Part 3: 1666
Cast: Kiana Madeira, Olivia Welch, Sadie Sink
Director: Leigh Janiak
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site
The Lowdown: The origins of the Shadyside curse are revealed and unlike R.L. Stine’s original young adult novels, the finale is unabashedly rated R. (How to Watch: Netflix)
Gunpowder Milkshake
Cast: Karen Gillan, Lena Headey, Carla Gugino, Michelle Yeoh, Angela Bassett, Paul Giamatti
Director: Navot Papushado
Points of Interest: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes
The Lowdown: After making a splash with the 2013 horror film “Big Bad Wolves” (co-directed with Aharon Keshales), Navot Papushado comes out with guns ablazin’ with the tale of a young woman (Karen Gillan) raised by an assassin (Lena Headey) to become one herself, but faces a dilemma when her own death-dealing puts an eight-year-old in the same situation as an orphan she once was in. (How to Watch: Netflix)
No Ordinary Man
Director: Aisling Chin-Yee and Chase Joynt
Points of Interest: IMDb, Facebook, Instagram, Rotten Tomatoes, trailer
The Lowdown: A favorite of the Toronto, Philadelphia and Cleveland Film Fests, this biography of the jazz musician Billy Tipton truly recounts a life no one knew when it was only revealed after his death that he was transgender. Three decades after the surprise has worn off and his story had been sensationalized, co-directors Aisling Chin-Yee and Chase Joynt aim to reclaim it with the help of contemporary trans artists inhabiting Tipton to tell his story authentically. (How to Watch: In Theaters)
Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain
Director: Morgan Neville
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Instagram, Rotten Tomatoes
The Lowdown: “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” director Morgan Neville creates another summer documentary event with this profile of the late bon vivant Anthony Bourdain, utilizing footage that never made it to air from his travel shows and home movies to reveal a side of him that audiences may not have known while giving a precious opportunity to spend more time with this great culinary adventurer. (How to Watch: In Theaters)
Space Jam: A New Legacy
Cast: LeBron James, Don Cheadle, Khris Davis, Sonequa Martin-Green, Cedric Joe, Jeff Bergman, Eric Bauza, Zendaya
Director: Malcolm D. Lee
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Rotten Tomatoes, trailer
The Lowdown: Hit or miss, Laker fans can thank LeBron James’ desire to follow in Michael Jordan’s footsteps for bringing the basketball star out to Los Angeles for this sequel to the 1996 Looney Tunes comedy, imagining his son (Cedric Joe) as an aspiring video game developer who gets them both sucked in to a virtual realm where a rogue A.I. (Don Cheadle) holds court, with James’ only hope of leaving being if he can lead the Toon Squad to victory. (How to Watch: In Theaters and on HBO Max)
July 23
Eyimofe (This is My Desire)
Cast: Jude Akuwudike, Temi Ami-Williams, Cynthia Ebijie, Tomiwa Edun, Jacob Alexander
Director: Arie and Chuko Esiri
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Facebook, Instagram, Rotten Tomatoes, trailer
The Lowdown: A bewitching bifurcated drama set in Lagos, this recent winner of a Golden Gate Award at the San Francisco Film Festival for New Director connects the stories of strangers who both dream of leaving the country, but find they can’t cut ties quite yet with a handyman (Jude Akuwudike) making plans for Spain until tragedy befalls his sister and he is stuck to sort out an ugly family affair and a hairdresser (Cynthia Ebijie) set on a new life in Italy until her younger sister becomes pregnant. (How to Watch: In Theaters, starting with an exclusive run at Film Forum in New York)
All the Streets Are Silent: The Convergence of Skateboards and Hip-Hop
Director: Jeremy Elkin
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site
The Lowdown: Skate videographer Jeremy Elkin had a motherlode of footage from the ‘80s and ‘90s, both his own and from others, to tell the story of the skate brand Zoo York co-founder Eli Morgan Gesner and the greater crossroads of skate and hip hop culture, both preparing to explode into the mainstream at around the same time. (How to Watch: In Theaters)
Hotel Transylvania: Transformania
Cast: Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg, Keegan-Michael Key, David Spade, Steve Buscemi, Fran Drescher, Kathryn Hahn
Director: Derek Drymon and Jennifer Kluska
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Rotten Tomatoes
The Lowdown: Announced as the fourth and final chapter of the “Hotel Transylvania” series, this animated comedy brings back Dracula (Adam Sandler) and the gang for one last adventure, with originating director Genndy Tarkovsky handing off the gig to Derek Drymon and Jennifer Kluska, but staying involved with writing the script. (How to Watch: In Theaters)
Kandisha
Cast: Mathilde Lamusse, Samarcande Saadi, Suzy Bemba
Director: Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo
Points of Interest: IMDb
The Lowdown: Be careful what you wish for in the new horror film from the French directing duo of Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo (“Inside”) about a trio of friends on summer vacation who summon the spirit of a demon while innocently trading tales around the campfire. (How to Watch: Shudder)
The Last Letter From Your Lover
Cast: Shailene Woodley, Joe Alwyn, Callum Turner, Felicity Jones, Nabhaan Rizwan
Director: Augustine Frizzell
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Rotten Tomatoes, trailer
The Lowdown: Based on the bestselling novel by “Me Before You” writer Jojo Moyes, this second feature from “Never Goin’ Back” director Augustine Frizzell offers romantic escapism in this story of a journalist (Felicity Jones) whose discovery of correspondence between a bored trophy wife (Shailene Woodley) and the business journalist (Callum Turner) tasked with profiling her husband for an article ignites a passion inside her. (How to Watch: Netflix)
Old
Cast: Gael García Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Ken Leung, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Abbey Lee, Aaron Pierre, Alex Wolff, Embeth Davidtz, Eliza Scanlen, Emun Elliott, Kathleen Chalfant, Thomasin McKenzie
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Rotten Tomatoes, trailer
The Lowdown: Don’t expect much of a logline for the latest from the director of “Glass,” except to say it involves an island where the aging process has been expedited to the point where life goes by in a day. (How to Watch: In Theaters)
Settlers
Cast: Sofia Boutella, Nell Tiger Free, Brooklynn Prince, Jonny Lee Miller, Ismael Cruz Cordova
Director: Wyatt Rockefeller
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site
The Lowdown: Imagining life on Mars, “The Florida Project” star Brooklyn Prince gets a juicy role as the connective tissue in this sci-fi triptych about a family that sets up a farm after moving from earth to the red planet, only to be visited by strangers beyond their comprehension. (How to Watch: In Theaters and on VOD)
Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins
Cast: Henry Golding, Andrew Koji, Samara Weaving, Iko Uwais
Director: Robert Schwentke
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Rotten Tomatoes
The Lowdown: The typically silent ninja commando gets an origin story, and likely a new action figure on toy shelves everywhere. (How to Watch: In Theaters)
July 30
Nine Days
Cast: Winston Duke, Zazie Beetz, Bill Skarsgård, Benedict Wong, Tony Hale, David Rysdahl, Arianna Ortiz
Director: Edson Oda
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Facebook, Rotten Tomatoes, trailer
The Lowdown: A truly life-affirming drama takes place in a waystation where a man (Winston Duke) connects souls to bodies, asking all who come his way whether they’re ready to live in Edson Oda’s breathtaking feature debut. (How to Watch: In Theaters)
The Boy Behind the Door
Cast: Lonnie Chavis, Ezra Dewey, Kristin Bauer van Straten, Scott Michael Foster, Micah Hauptman
Director: Justin Powell and David Charbonier
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Rotten Tomatoes
The Lowdown: Although “The Djinn” co-directors Charbonier and Powell are cagey about showing the villains in this thriller, you know quite early they regret abducting a pair of kids (Lonnie Chavis and Ezra Dewey) who find themselves in a house they don’t know how to get out of, but are surprisingly savvy when it comes to survival. (How to Watch: Shudder)
Enemies of the State
Director: Sonia Kennebeck
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Instagram, Rotten Tomatoes
The Lowdown: The director of “National Bird” returns with this truly crazy nonfiction nailbiter centering on Matt DeHart, who served at one time in the U.S. National Guard and claims to have knowledge of unlawful drone strikes, which makes his arrest on child pornography charges suspicious enough for his parents to attempt to smuggle him into Canadian in the hopes of attaining political asylum. (How to Watch: In Theaters and on VOD)
Fully Realized Humans
Cast: Joshua Leonard, Jess Weixler, Ross Partridge, Janicza Bravo, Jennifer Lafleur, Beth Grant
Director: Joshua Leonard
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Rotten Tomatoes
The Lowdown: It would’ve been understandable if “Teeth” star Jess Weixler would’ve wanted to take a break from acting before the birth of her first child, but for her co-star and director on “The Lie” Joshua Leonard, the due date could be seen an opportunity for a wild comedy, one in which he and a totally game Weixler play soon-to-be parents who worry about all the things they may not have the time or energy to do when have a baby to tend to and decide to cram them all in before labor starts. (How to Watch: In Theaters and on VOD and digital)
The Green Knight
Cast: Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Barry Keoghan, Joel Edgerton, Sarita Choudhury, Ralph Ineson, Sean Harris, Kate Dickie
Director: David Lowery
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Rotten Tomatoes, trailer
The Lowdown: The first A24 film with a tie-in tabletop board game, it’s said that “A Ghost Story” director David Lowery was playing with “Willow” figurines when the inspiration struck for this fantasy film set in the age of King Arthur, concerning his nephew Sir Gawain (Dev Patel) who must slay the titular axe-wielding foe. (How to Watch: In Theaters)
Jungle Cruise
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Edgar Ramirez, Jack Whitehall, Jesse Plemons, Paul Giamatti
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Rotten Tomatoes, trailer
The Lowdown: The last time Jaume Collet-Serra got in the water, it was with “The Shallows,” making his first Disney film at least a little more intriguing than one would expect of something based on a theme park ride. Dwayne Johnson stars as a riverboat captain who is hired by a scientist (Emily Blunt) and her brother (Jack Whitehall) to take them to the fabled tree of life. (How to Watch: In Theaters and for rental on Disney+ Premier Access)
The Last Mercenary
Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Alban Ivanov, Éric Judor
Director: David Charhon
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Rotten Tomatoes
The Lowdown: Continuing down the comic path of his short-lived Amazon series “Jean Claude Van Johnson,” the action star plays a former member of France’s secret service who returns to the country in order to help his son out of arms dealing charges brought about by the local mafia. (How to Watch: Netflix)
Never Gonna Snow Again
Cast: Alec Utgoff, Maja Ostaszewska, Agata Kulesza, Weronika Rosati, Katarzyna Figura, Andrzej Chyra, Lukasz Simlat
Director: Malgoska Szumowska and Michal Englert
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Rotten Tomatoes, trailer
The Lowdown: A masseuse (Alec Utgoff) soothes the souls of the residents of a gated community in Poland, with clients coming to believe he’s working actual magic in this lighthearted crowdpleaser from longtime collaborators behind “Elles” and “The Other Lamb.” (How to Watch: In Theaters and Kino Marquee)
Resort to Love
Cast: Christina Milian, Sinqua Walls, Jay Pharoah
Director: Steven K. Tsuchida
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Rotten Tomatoes
The Lowdown: A weekend of fun proves to be not so much for a singer (Christina Milian) who finds out her residency at a hotel in Mauritius coincides with her ex-fiance’s wedding with his brother (Sinqua Walls) trying to prevent the two from seeing each other. (How to Watch: Netflix)
Stillwater
Cast: Matt Damon, Abigail Breslin, Camille Cottin, Deanna Dunagan
Director: Tom McCarthy
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Rotten Tomatoes, trailer
The Lowdown: “Spotlight” director Tom McCarthy taps into the questions raised by the Amanda Knox case with this drama following an Oklahoma roughneck (Matt Damon) who is out of his element in Marseille, having to defend his daughter (Abigail Breslin) who is accused of murdering her lover despite her protests to the contrary in an unfamiliar legal system. (How to Watch: In Theaters)
Sabaya
Director: Hogir Hirori
Points of Interest: IMDb, Official Site, Facebook, Rotten Tomatoes
The Lowdown: A winner of Sundance’s Documentary Directing Award and a recent recipient of the True/False Fest’s True Life Fund (which is continuing to take donations), this harrowing doc follows the volunteers at the Yazidi Home Center venture into the Al-Hol camp in Syria in the dead of night to rescue Yazidi women held captive by ISIS and made to be sex slaves. (How to Watch: In Theaters and on digital)